The present invention relates to an image scanning system, and particularly to a system which scans a strip of photographic film containing multiple images, and creates digital representations of those images.
Currently, scanning of photographic images is accomplished with flatbed scanners and drum scanners. With these scanners, only one image can be scanned at a time. If a new image is to be scanned, the old image must be physically removed from the scanner and replaced by the new image. One disadvantage to using such scanners is that it is a slow process to scan multiple images.
Other available scanners scan a roll of film by advancing the film until the first image is aligned with a scanning station, stopping and scanning the first image, advancing the film until the next image is aligned with the scanning station, stopping and scanning that image, and then continuing this process through the roll of film. Again, this is a slow process as the film must be stopped each time an image is scanned.
In addition to speed limitations, another disadvantage of prior art scanners is that they are typically limited to scanning only one type of film. With the variety of films that are available today, it would be useful to have a single scanner that can scan many types of film.
A further disadvantage of prior art scanners is the inability to efficiently locate previously scanned images and rescan them at a higher resolution. Typically, as the resolution increases, so does the time it takes to scan an image. Thus, it would be very advantageous to be able to quickly scan multiple images at a low resolution, and then after examining the digital representations of the images, locating and rescanning selected images at a higher resolution.